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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — a position
  5. dip — to sink
  6. field — farmland
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. staff — a stick
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. ground — the earth
  19. spring — of water
  20. lean — thin
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. staff — employees
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. dip — to dunk

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com